CHAPTER I. 



Traditions Coxchkning the Beaver and the Wori^d's Creation — 

 Prodigies Ascribed to Earey Members — The Beaver as the 

 Progenitor of Man — Supposed Influence of Beaver Ghosts — 

 Reverence with which the Beaver is Treated— Beaver Fables 

 — Early Colonial Superstitions Regarding Animal Life. 



Before relating what may be called the sacred legends of the 

 beaver, it may be well, first, to consider the people in whose minds 

 the stories originated. It is generally admitted that climate has a re- 

 markable effect on character, and with all the varieties from tropical 

 to arctic, included in the original habitat of the Indians, a great 

 diversity of character might be expected. In fact, they cannot be 

 studied as one people, aii}^ more than could the present inhabitants 

 of Europe, be described in one simple phrase. Thus, to the South, 

 there w^ere the " Digger " Indians, and the "Fishing" tribes — in- 

 different and unprogressive — and with them, the robber bands who 

 preyed upon them. Further to the North a sturdier race, the great 

 warriors, distracting their neighbours, north and south, making 

 captives and generally playing the part of a military nation ; wdiile 

 on this plane would be included settled and industrious tribes, such 

 as the Hochelagans. Still higher in latitude the hardy fur-hunters, 

 whose dealings with the Hudson's Bay Company for over two 

 centuries, furnish ample ground for the conception of the noble 

 possibilities of the " redman ; " and with such names as Pontiac, 

 Tecumseth and Brant, illuminating the pages of our history, we 

 need not choose types from the poor wretches who have fallen heir 

 to our vices only. 



Then may we hold more respect for our red-skinned brother, and 

 treat with reverence those traditions which to him were most sacred. 



